The 14-hydroxymorphinans, such as, oxycodone, naloxone, naltrexone, nalbuphine and nalmefene are important opiate derivatives due to their behavior as potent analgesics and/or narcotic antagonists. The most practical synthetic routes to the preparation of these pharmaceuticals have utilized the alkaloid, thebaine, as a starting material. Other important opiate derivatives such as the ring-C bridged compounds buprenorphine and etorphine are also most practically prepared from thebaine.

In accordance with one conventional process, thebaine is oxidized to 14-hydroxycodeinone by use of m-chloroperbenzoic acid in an acetic acid/trifluoroacetic acid mixture or by a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and formic acid. 14-hydroxycodeinone is catalytically reduced to oxycodone. Oxycodone is a product sold for use as and analgesic and its production consumes large amounts of thebaine.
Oxycodone can be, in turn, O-demethylated with boron tribromide to yield oxymorphone. After blocking of the hydroxyl groups with a suitable blocking agent, such as, acetyl groups, the oxymorphone derivative is reacted with cyanogen bromide in a von Braun demethylation to yield an N-cyanodihydronormorphinone derivative that is thereafter hydrolyzed to 14-hydroxydihydronormorphinone (noroxymorphone). Noroxymorphone can be readily converted to nal-compounds by N-alkylation with appropriate alkyl halide, or acylation with appropriate acyl halide or anhydride, followed by reduction. A more generally applicable process, converts the oxycodone of the above process to noroxycodone by the von Braun N-demethyiation followed by conversion to a 3—O-methyl-nal-compound using N-alkylation with an appropriate alkyl halide, or by alkylation with an appropriate alkyl halide, or acylation with appropriate acyl halide or anhydride, followed by reduction. The 3—O-methyl-nal-compound is reacted to a nal-compound by O-demethylation.
A synthesis using thebaine to produce the ring-C bridged opiate, buprenorphine, is shown in Scheme A1.

Another synthesis using thebaine to produce the 14-hydroxymorphinan, naltrexone as representative of the nal-compounds, is shown in Scheme A2.

Although these syntheses are effective, the availability of thebaine is limited and its cost high. The high cost of thebaine contributes to the high cost of the 14-hydroxymorphinans derived from it.
One reason for the limited availability of thebaine, and its high cost, is that total synthesis is difficult. U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,668 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,813 discuss the scarcity of thebaine and teach the total synthesis, or alternative synthesis, of the 14-hydroxymorphinans. Yet, the demand for thebaine remains.
A second reason for the limited availability of thebaine, and its high cost, is that the primary source of thebaine is extraction from the poppy plant, Papaver somniferum. Morphine is the major alkaloid that accumulates in capsules of Papaver somniferum. Thus, the supply of thebaine is to a great degree limited to some fraction of the demand for morphine.
Further synthetic routes to the preparation of the 14-hydroxymorphinans are known using the alkaloid, oripavine, as a starting material.

Oripavine has not been used as a starting material for the 14-hydroxymorphinans in any practical sense because it is not recoverable from Papaver somiferum in any practical yield. Thus, there is now no real shortage of this material, but only because there has never developed any demand for it.
A synthesis using oripavine to produce the ring-C bridged opiate, buprenorphine, is shown in Scheme A3.
As compared to the synthesis from thebaine, this synthesis has an additional step. However, the protecting group, X, can be chosen from groups, such as, acetyl, benzoyl or trialkyl silyl so that the removal of X in the last step can be a high yielding and fast reaction as compared to the demethylation required with the use of thebaine.
Another synthesis using oripavine to produce the 14-hydroxymorphinan, naltrexone as representative of the nal-compounds, is shown in Scheme A4.
As compared to the synthesis from thebaine, this synthesis has an additional step. However, as above, the protecting group, X, can be chosen from groups, such as, acetyl, benzoyl or trialkyl silyl so that the removal of X in the last step can be a high yielding and fast reaction as compared to the demethylation required with the use of thebaine.
Alkaloids are extracted from the poppy capsules of Papaver somniferum by two commercial methods. In one method, the immature capsule is cut and the latex collected from the wound. The air dried latex is opium which, according to the Merck Index, 11th edition, contains alkaloids in the amounts shown in Table I. In a second method, the mature poppy capsules and the poppy capsule stems are collected, and threshed to remove the seeds and form a straw. When necessary, the straw is dried to a water content below 16%. Solvent or water extraction is employed to remove the alkaloids from the straw. For the varieties of Papaver somniferum normally grown by the Applicants herein, the straw, on a dry basis, contains alkaloids in the amounts shown in Table I.
TABLE Iopiumstrawmorphine, %10–161–3codeine, %0.8–2.50.05–0.3  oripavine, %  0–0.1  0–0.05thebaine, %0.5–2  0.15–0.65As can be seen, the yield of thebaine and oripavine is confounded with that of other alkaloids.
Where solvent or water or super critical fluid, such as CO2, extraction is employed to remove the alkaloids from the straw, such method, as practised, involves the production of “Concentrate of Poppy Straw”. Concentrate of Poppy Straw is defined as “The material arising when poppy straw has entered into a process for the concentration of its alkaloids, when such material is made available in trade,” (MULTILINGUAL DICTIONARY OF NARCOTIC DRUGS AND PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES UNDER INTERNATIONAL CONTROL, United Nations, New York, 1983). Not inconsistent with the foregoing defininition, Concentrate of Poppy Straw is defined as “the crude extract of poppy straw in either liquid, solid or powder form which contains the phenanthrene alkaloids of the opium poppy,” 45 U.S. Federal Register 77466, Nov. 24, 1980. When in liquid form, the liquid is preferably concentrated before entering into commerce. The generally preferred Concentrate of Poppy Straw is the powder form which results from simply removing the solvent or water following extraction of the poppy straw. In a more narrow sense, Concentrate of Poppy Straw should contain the alkaloids of Papaver somniferum in substantially their raw proportions. However, more broadly, certain of the alkaloids, or portions thereof, may be deleted from the Concentrate of Poppy Straw so long as at least two of the alkaloid components remain in their raw proportions, one to the other.
It is the object of the present invention to produce poppy straw of Papaver somniferum containing increased yields of thebaine and/or oripavine. It is another object of the present invention to produce such poppy straw containing little or no codeine or morphine.
It is an object of the present invention to produce opium of Papaver somniferum having increased yields of thebaine and/or oripavine. It is another object of the present invention to produce such opium having little or no codeine or morphine.
It is an object of the present invention to produce concentrate of poppy straw of Papaver somniferum having increased yields of thebaine and/or oripavine. It is another object of the present invention to produce such concentrate of poppy straw having little or no codeine or morphine.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide for an improved process for the production of thebaine and/or oripavine. The improved process utilizes a mutagenized poppy plant of Papaver somniferum providing thebaine and/or oripavine in improved yield.
There is also provided by the present invention a method whereby the thebaine and/or oripavine yield of a poppy plant of Papaver somniferum may be improved.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a poppy plant of Papaver somniferum having an improved yield of thebaine and/or oripavine with little or no morphine or codeine.